The finding fairy

The finding fairy must be really pleased with me at the moment...

Not only did I find my diary the other day, I found four books I'd been looking for yesterday, under my bed!

glorious!

This time last year

This time last year... I was settling into life in the country. I have a folder in my pictures file called "Orange July 2007". There are photos of me in the lovely old house I lived in and out and about town.

I feel all nostalgic, so here they are.

The view from the house one cold morning.


In the mini kitchen


This photo's a sequel to the serious shot I had as my profile picture for ages.. on Lake Canobolas.



Token pretentious "mirror image" shot..



Beautiful sunset



I do miss Orange, I miss the people and the climate and the stunning scenery. But I missed my friends and family heaps when I was there. Funny how these things happen.

WOOHOO

What is a blog for if not for pointless updates about the most trivial of things?

I FOUND MY DIARY!

I lost it a month ago, and had been using an inferior substitute... NOT ANY MORE!

Take that imaginary diary stealer!

Music dreams

I used to be quite obsessed by music, to the point where I decided it was probably unhealthy to be so into one thing. So I've cut back dramatically on how many cds I buy and gigs I go to. It helps that I can't afford the lifestyle anyway. But I do miss being 'in the know' about music.

Anyway, because it's my last day of holidays and I'm blogging like there's no tomorrow... here's a list of cds I'd buy if I were going to buy any, but know I won't end up buying them anyway (haha stupid category).

Death by Grand Salvo


The Bowery by Firekites

Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes

Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie

I think the cover of fleet foxes is a great parody of Pieter Bruegel!

I'm really enjoying listening to Venus Traps Fly by Machine Translations at the moment. And oldie but a goodie.

Speaking of Books

I was walking up Glebe Pnt Rd to meet a student the other day stopped at Sapphy's second hand bookshop, because I was early. They have a discount table out the front of the store that's usually full of 80s self help books that aren't worth the paper they're printed on. BUT... one book, caught my eye.

It was a delicate pink book with a green binding. It had no title, just a picture of a cat dressed in ornamental garb. How peculiar, I thought. I turned the spine round and read "POOR MINETTE: The letters of two cats, by P.J Stahl."



I opened it up and it had a beautiful inscription.



and title page



But the real surprise came when I read a little bit, and saw the beautiful illustrations throughout of these cats dressed as humans, with completely human personalities!



Here is an example of the text:

Brisquet is one of those candid egoists who are quite willing to admit that they are far fonder of themselves than of anybody else, and whose only passions are those aroused by theier vanity. Tomcats like Brisquet invented the art of philandering to make themselves attractive to our sex without being obliged to fall in love with us.

I just love it! So applicable to so many rogues out there...

So anyway, I bought it, because it was only $3. I took it into the shop and the woman behind the counter was shocked how cheap it was and said it was a good find.

As I was walking away from the shop I looked further inside the book, and discovered it was published in 1954 and was a first edition, printed in London! Crazy times... So I did a bit of a google search. The first thing that came up was a copy on Amazon for over US $100... but then I looked further, and it's more reasonbly listed around US$15 in other places.

But I didn't buy it to sell it. Poor Minette is stuck with me!

These are stunning

I can't get over the intricacy and imagination involved in these book sculptures!



They would look so beautiful perched on a bookshelf somewhere. Would be hard to dust though...

Two seagulls sit

After waking up for the 9th day in a row after 9am (ahhh holidays)I did eventually get out of my PJs, into the shower and out the door to the train station.

It was such a glorious day for a trip to the art gallery; the sun was bashing through the leaves in Hyde Park and bringing out all the personal trainers and their slaves (I was in shock, there were probably about 20 different pairs along the road towards the gallery alone).

For the novelty/nostalgia factor, I took my old film Canon SLR with me - such a funny feeling when you take a photo and go to look at the result and there isn't anything there! But I just love love love the natural sound of the shutter. mmm film. Not sure where I'll get it developed, or when, or how I'm going to scan the photos, seeing as I don't have a scanner, but still. Nice for a change.

I also took my knitting (am knitting a beanie at the moment as well as a jumper). I soon discovered that public knitting apparently gives people the right to talk to you, unannounced!

I was sitting on Lewisham station, knitting away (knit two, purl two, knit two, purl two) when the woman beside me begins to stare at me, through the corner of her sunnies. When I look up, she looks away like a startled seagull.

[A train goes past, not stopping]
"When's the next train due to come?" Seagull asks.

"12:19. I think."

"Ooh I hope that wasn't our train forgetting to stop."

I chuckle slightly to stop the awkward interaction getting anymore awkward.

[30 seconds passes. I'm intent on finishing the row before the train comes]

"What are you knitting?"

"A beanie."

"Ahh.... at least you can knit!"

"I only learnt in April. I'm still getting the hang of it."

"My daughter had to knit squares for school. And I tell you - it was the parents who ended up doing it...."

I chuckle slightly again, trying to concentrate on the row.

The seagull isn't done with this conversation yet. "Sewing and knitting - it's a lost art, isn't it."

[Train arrives! yes. row done.]

"Mmm... I'm not a very good sewer."

Like two seagulls on the beach, brought together momentarily by the promise of something great, we then scuttle off into separate carriages.